


Lost and Found

by Bunbunbun



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Gen, In which the gang stumbles ass backwards into becoming ghost hunters, Supernatural Elements, Time Travel Fix-It, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunbunbun/pseuds/Bunbunbun
Summary: As he raised a shaky hand towards his eye and felt the organ still intact, with no torn skin or gore, he couldn’t disregard the reality of what had happened.The reason he’d been surprised upon waking was not because of the sky above his head or the mud soaking into the back of his shirt. It was because last he remembered, he had been dying.He would never look at garden shears the same way again, that was for sure.A story about time travel, friendship, redemption, learning to forgive oneself, and overcoming existential horror by punching ghosts in the face.
Relationships: Aubrey & Basil & Hero & Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Hero/Mari (OMORI), Mari & Sunny (OMORI)
Comments: 41
Kudos: 248





	1. Chapter 1

The first emotion Sunny felt upon waking was that of dull confusion, which sharpened to shock as his grogginess faded. The cause of the shock was multifaceted, but the most obvious point was that he was currently staring up at the sky, which was very much not his ceiling fan. And while he couldn’t be bothered to turn his head to double check- honestly, way too much effort- he was at least partially sure that he was laying in a puddle of mud.

Well.

Well, well, well.

That didn’t make much sense at all, did it? This must be a dream. An oddly realistic dream, sure, but he’s had odder. Maybe if he closed his eyes he could fall asleep within the dream and in  _ that  _ dream he wouldn’t be laying outside in the mud. Decision made, Sunny closed his eyes.

…

...wait, hold on, did something just crawl across his leg?!

Suddenly very, very awake, Sunny flailed into an upright position, rudely dislodging the adventurous beetle that had been attempting to scale his kneecap. Okay. Not a spider. Still not a fun thing to have a bug crawl on you, but he’d take six legs over eight any day.

Giving up on his attempts to avoid waking up, he staggered to his feet.

He was struck by multiple realizations at once, and they were all so overwhelming that he found himself simply freezing in place, eyes wide, heart thundering.

Calm down.

Breathe.

_ Think. _

He’d handle the least threatening observation first. A quick glance around revealed that he was in the hideout, soaked through by water from the lake as he had been laying right at the shore. He was covered in mud, which he’d ordinarily be annoyed about, but he was too busy being relieved that he hadn’t slipped further into the water while he’d been unconscious.

The shrine in the lake was cracked right down the center. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. He decided not to think about it.

The second observation, middling in how much it was making his heart pound, was that he was small, in the same way he had been in his happy dreams of friendship and adventures. Yet again, he put this note in a mental box and put it on an imaginary shelf. He’d deal with that later, when things made literally any sense at all.

Shoot, he couldn’t procrastinate anymore, could he?

The final observation wasn’t really the last, it was the first, he just had attempted to ignore it. But as he raised a shaky hand towards his eye and felt the organ still intact, with no torn skin or gore, he couldn’t disregard the reality of what had happened.

The reason he’d been surprised upon waking was not because of the sky above his head or the mud soaking into the back of his shirt. It was because last he remembered, he had been dying.

He would never look at garden shears the same way again, that was for sure.

...Well. Good. Good that he was alive. He wouldn’t want Basil to get in any trouble, after all. After everything Sunny had failed to do for him, the least he could do is not add to the ghosts that haunted him.

His mind closed off to further lines of inquiry, unable to process these impossible realizations. Instead, his imagination distracted him with images of the shrine being torn asunder by a monster with sharp teeth and bulging muscles before being chased away by the beautiful spirit of the lake.

He regarded the spirit mournfully as they wept over the damaged shrine. Poor spirit.

Voices snapped him out of his daydream, the lake spirit vanishing back into his head. Sunny scrambled to his feet. For an instant, the childish desire to hide nearly overwhelmed him, but he shook it off. He was tired of hiding.

...Also there was absolutely nowhere to hide nearby so he couldn’t even if he wanted to, so there was that.

The voices were calling his name.

He didn’t really feel up to verbalizing, but he didn’t want to be rude, so he settled with whistling in response. Footsteps thundered through the brush, and tree limbs were shoved aside.

It was Mari.

Ah, so this was a dream after all.

“Sunny!” she cried, dashing to him and engulfing him in a tight hug. His arms instinctively responded, returning the gesture as he buried his face into her side. He felt a little bad that she was getting muddy from holding him, but not enough to try and escape.

Mari was crying, sobs wracking her body hard enough that he could feel her tremors shaking him. He patted her on the back, hoping to soothe her.

“I was-” she gasped, “I was so worried! Sunny, what  _ happened?!  _ Are you alright?!” Utterly lost, Sunny floundered before settling with a nod. A crease formed between Mari’s eyebrows, and she shakily cupped his face in her hands. “What’s wrong?” she pressed, clearly trying to keep her voice gentle despite her stress. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Another oddity to pile on with the rest. Sunny never had to speak in dreams. The world was shaped around him, so his intent never needed any explanation. Then again, the one in the dreams was Omori, not him. Was that why? Was this some new, strange headspace he had yet to learn the rules of?

He felt a pang of regret at that thought. Part of him had hoped that maybe he could start recovering, if he met Basil head on. That by standing his ground and facing what he had done, he could finally move forward. But clearly, if this new delusion featured Mari, his mental state was still…

...Well, since he was himself, and simultaneously aware of Mari’s death and his involvement in the incident, maybe that was a step. A small step, sure, but better than complete repression and isolation, surely?

Mari was staring at him, urgency written across her features. With an embarrassing amount of effort, he opened his mouth.

“Sorry,” he whispered. She looked confused, and he hastily added, “-for worrying you.” Perfect, nailed it.

“Mari? Did you find him?!” a distant shout carried over the still air. Hero’s voice?

“Yes!” she called back, relief beginning to brighten her expression. “He’s here, he’s alright!”

There was a flurry of movement before Hero burst into the hideout, winded and eyes noticeably puffy and bloodshot. Upon seeing Sunny, the breath rushed out of him in a huge exhale of relief, and he hugged the both of them tightly. “Sunny? What happened, how did you get here?”

“Woke up here, don’t know how.” Sunny replied simply.

Hero’s brow furrowed, and his lips tightened slightly. “Was anyone with you? Did they bring you here, or hurt you in any way?”

“I’m fine,” Sunny said quickly, reading the atmosphere and desperately trying not to worry the two any more than he already had. “There wasn’t anyone. Just me. See?” He pointed to where he had awoken. Clearly indented in the mud were his footprints, and only his footprints.

Of course, as he did this, Sunny realized that the indentations only led away from the water, and the noticeable absence of anything leading towards it to begin with. Oops. Hopefully they wouldn’t notice.

Mari and Hero exchanged a loaded look that Sunny didn’t know how to interpret. They seemed concerned, but not angry, so… that was good?

Despite the tension in his shoulders, Hero smiled genuinely at him. “Well, let’s get you home, okay? Everyone will be so glad to see you. Let’s not keep them waiting.”

Kel, Aubrey, and Basil were sitting on the curb in front of the house, and as soon as Hero and Mari came into view with Sunny in tow, they all lept up. Aubrey and Basil’s faces were streaked with tears, and while Kel was dry-eyed, his face was pale and his body seemed to hold an unusually jittery energy. Sunny was pulled into an awkward, messy, four-way hug that involved Basil bonking his head against Sunny’s chin and Kel’s elbow digging into his side, but he couldn’t say he minded. Instead, he eased into the sensation, nostalgia washing over him as he remembered past group naps buried in stuffed animals. He felt something soft curl past his leg which startled him, but the moment he realized it was Mewo, he relaxed even further.

Gosh, he could really use a nap right now. He knew he had just woken up, but as far as he was concerned, he was still shaking off being dead or something. That probably required more sleep than usual.

But wait, wasn’t this a dream? His sluggish brain really couldn’t tell anymore.

Thoroughly zoned out, he barely processed everyone asking him questions at the same time. The chaos turned to white noise in his ears. Luckily, Hero was there to lay his hands on Sunny’s shoulder, very gently freeing him from the now clinging grip of his other friends. 

“Give him a little room, guys. He said he doesn’t remember anything, so there’s no point in badgering him,” he said soothingly. From this angle Sunny couldn’t see Hero’s face; he wondered if the calm he was projecting was real or manufactured, especially considering the near panicked state he seemed to have been in when he first saw Sunny. Either way, it was convincing. At once, everyone backed up a little, although Kel seemed reluctant to quiet down.

“But what happened to the room, Sunny? Did you do that?” he asked, eyes flicking to the upstairs window.

Sunny followed his gaze and froze.

The window was broken.

Quickly, he shook his head. He was guilty of a lot of things, but property damage? No sir.

Aubrey, scrubbing her face free of tears, mumbled, “If you think that’s bad, you should see the inside. What should we do? When are your parents supposed to be home, Mari?”

Mari hummed, rubbing her chin. “Let’s see… That should be the day after tomorrow.”

Basil let out a shaky sigh of relief. “W-well, whatever happened, it’s okay, right? We can clean it before they get back. It shouldn’t be too hard if we all work together.”

In an undertone that made it clear that he was really only talking to Mari, Hero murmured, “Should we call the police?”

Mari leaned closer to him, as she always did when the world became a space just for the two of them. Sunny felt his heart twist a bit at the sight. “I don’t think the police are a good idea. I don’t want people to talk. Do you think your mom could look him over just to make sure he isn’t hurt?”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. Honestly, it’d probably be best if everyone just went to our place tonight.” Hero mused.

Had he actually been twelve instead of just looking it, the mention of  _ people talking  _ would have gone over his head entirely. But now, having lived through just how gossipy and judgemental people had been towards Aubrey, he understood completely. He already seemed like his sister’s weird little shadow. If word got out that he was destroying his room and scuttling into the woods in the middle of the night, he could kiss his peaceful anonymity goodbye.

“Well!” Mari clapped her hands, a cheery smile that was only somewhat forced. “Who’s up for a sleepover?”

Kel let out a loud whoop at that, which earned him a glare from Aubrey. “Can’t you take this seriously?!” she demanded. “Sunny could have been kidnapped!”

“Yeah but he wasn’t! So let’s actually have fun and celebrate!” Kel huffed back.

Before a fight could start, Basil interrupted. “I think that sounds really fun! Will your parents be okay with it?”

“Of course they will!” Kel sang, scooping Mewo up into his arms and snuggling her, which she reluctantly tolerated. “You wanna come, Mewo? You like Hector, you guys can have a sleepover too!”

Aubrey, against her will, began to be swept up in Kel’s enthusiasm. “Well, I guess it does sound kind of fun… Can we make cookies?”

Mari giggled. “Sure, why not?”

At that, Aubrey finally allowed a little smile. “Okay, I’ll run home and get my stuff!”

“Me too!” Basil chimed in.

Hero cleared his throat. “Kel, do you want to go with them so they aren’t walking on their own?”

Kel looked confused for a moment before clarity dawned on his face. “Oh, because of the maybe-kidnapper? Sure, I can go. I could take them on!” He flexed his arm.

“We’re doomed.” Aubrey said flatly.

“Hey!”

“We’ll be fine.” Basil sighed, cutting the two off yet again. “Let’s go to my place first, and then Grandma can drive us back. That way, we won't have to carry everything either.”

“Smart,” Sunny said quietly. He didn’t think he had been heard, but Basil lit up at the compliment. Sunny very determinedly did not think about garden shears.

“Sleep issues are my guess, dear.” Kel and Hero’s mom reassured Mari after Sunny’s impromptu examination. They were now seated in the living room as the comforting sound of Hero cooking drifted in from the next room. “He’s perfectly healthy, not a bruise or scratch on him. A little underweight, maybe-” she gave Sunny a pointed look, which he pretended not to notice, “-but it doesn’t sound like he’s been sleeping very well, and at his age that can lead to all sorts of issues. Messing up a room and walking to the park may sound extreme, but there are documented cases of people doing all sorts of strange things while sleepwalking!”

Mari looked pained. “Is that true, Sunny? Have you been having trouble sleeping?”

Sunny shuffled his feet and avoided eye contact. He couldn’t tell them that he actually spent most of the time asleep, could he? This was back before that was true, back when he and Mari shared a room. Eventually, he mumbled, “Nightmares.” It wasn’t a total lie, at least, so it made him feel a bit better.

Mari stiffened. “From when you almost downed?” she asked, apprehension thick in her voice.

Underneath the table, Sunny began to tap his finger against his leg. Why was this so hard? He couldn’t find his words at all. Unbidden, he blurted, “You, dying. Me being alone. Everyone hating me. Smashing my violin.”

...Oops.

The sound from the kitchen had gone completely silent. Hero and Kel’s mom was giving Sunny a look brimming with sympathy.

Mari was looking at him like he was a ghost. It would almost be funny if his face wasn’t burning with mortification. Why, oh,  _ why _ didn’t he just say it was about drowning?!

“Mari, dear, I know its a personal question, but is everything going ok at home right now?”

Huh. Sunny hadn’t known that people outside of the family knew about their parent’s arguments.

Mari seemed embarrassed for some reason, fidgeting with a strand of hair. “Um, you know. Same as always!” she let out an awkward little laugh.

The older woman nodded, looking like she understood the subtext of Mari’s words. “I understand, sweetheart. Unfortunately, it isn’t surprising, considering what’s happening with your father’s work. Well, if the two of you ever need to come over and spend the night, you can. Anytime. Spare key is taped to the underside of the roof of Hector’s doghouse.”

Mari’s cheeks turned pink, but she looked grateful. “Only if you’re sure you don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” Sunny added, glad that nobody was staring at him anymore.

Fortunately, it was at that moment that Kel, Aubrey, and Basil arrived, overnight bags slung over their shoulders. They had also stopped by Sunny and Mari’s house, so Sunny now had his pajamas, toothbrush, his pet rock, and an armload of stuffed animals in his corner of the blanket fort. Hero finished making dinner just as his and Kel’s dad came home from work. The table was packed, the room was filled with laughter, and the food was delicious. The rest of the evening was spent playing with Mewo and Hector, baking cookies, and watching the cheesy sci fi movie airing on television.

At a commercial break, Sunny excused himself to go to the bathroom. As he washed his hands, he carefully chanced a look in the mirror.

He was alone.

He took a steadying breath.

He tried to wake up.

Nothing happened.

...He tried not to panic. His finger was tapping again. Was this real? Was he really, actually here? It felt so real. He had tasted dinner, and you couldn’t taste the food in dreams. So then, what was this? The afterlife? Purgatory? A particularly vivid hallucination? His mind started to shut down at the increasingly stressful questions, started to search to distract himself. It drifted to the silly movie playing downstairs, but it hit a snag on a certain, specific plot detail.

The movie had been about traveling through time. The hero in it was trying to fix a mistake he had made that had set off a war between humans and aliens, resulting in the downfall of humanity. Splitting apart the laws of the universe, all to change a single, tiny moment in time. An accident.

A cold chill went down his spine. His pupils in the mirror were blown wide. Was this it? A way to redeem himself? To save his sister?

What would she even be like in four years? What about Hero, a person who seemed to be almost totally consumed with her death? Would Aubrey still become a delinquent? Would Basil still…

Could he save Basil, too?

Slowly, chasing away the fear, a glimmer of optimism began to grow in his chest.

He decided not to think about that shattered window, though. That could wait. For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (hey kids uh if you ever wake up alone in the woods with no memory please actually go to the hospital and not just your friend's mom)
> 
> Also, I know that literally nobody except for me would care about this kind of thing, but just in case, this time travel is the single continuum style, not multiverse style. So like, the Sunny we know didn't erase or trade places with a Sunny from an alternate universe. Does this mean this story is basically one giant paradox? Absolutely, but like that's gonna stop me lmao
> 
> On an actually serious note for once, as you may have guessed, this fic will tap into the same aspects of the game that might be upsetting to some, namely discussions of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Stay safe, please!


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Sunny did when he managed to calm his breathing was to sneak into Kel and Hero’s room. It was a mission easily accomplished as everyone was still watching the movie downstairs, but even so his heart pounded as though he were about to commit a crime and risked getting caught.

His target was the calendar he knew Hero kept pinned neatly next to his desk. A glance at it confirmed what he had dreaded.

The date was September 24, a Friday. In hindsight it made sense that the weekend was starting. Why else would both his mom and dad be out of town? Even though he knew what he would see, Sunny felt compelled to lift the page to the following month.

One day stood out like a beacon. Hero had encircled it multiple times, and in capital letters,  _ RECITAL!!!  _ was written.

Saturday, October 23. The day Mari died.

He needed a plan. The recital was key. If he could just make it past that day… if Mari could live past that day… everything would be okay, wouldn’t it? He just had to do something about the recital. But what? How could he stop it?

Maybe if he got rid of his violin, but in a way where Mari wouldn’t know he had done it? Wait, they had all been afraid that the house had been broken into, right? What if he staged a burglary? Oh, what a shame, he can’t perform! His violin has been stolen! How sad!

...But that would involve staging a burglary, which would mean he would have to find time to do that when nobody was home. And he’d have to make a mess in order for it to be convincing, which he’d feel bad about. Also, wouldn’t it be weird that the thief only stole the violin? He could hide other things to make it more convincing, but… no. This didn’t sound like a good idea.

He could… break his arm? His brain chose that moment to very helpfully supply him with the memory of what crunching bone sounded like. No. No, no, no. Next.

He could run and hide the night of the recital? Hm… Tempting, but considering what his friends’ and his sister’s faces looked like earlier today, he had to reject that one as well. He couldn’t do that to them again.

Sunny bit his lip. He supposed he could just tell Mari he didn’t want to do it. But for some reason, the thought formed a pit in his stomach. He stared at the marked date on Hero’s calendar. Every other event that was notated was written in small, neat penmanship, standing in stark contrast to the all capitals and exclamation points on the 23rd. He remembered standing in the graveyard, his friends telling him about all the preparation they had been doing for that special night. Hair cuts, nice clothes. So much excitement.

He remembered how hard Mari had been practicing. How hard she had worked to make everything perfect.

Abruptly, Sunny realized that his head was spinning. Carefully, he sat down on the floor and took deep breaths.

Should he do it? Should he try and play at the recital?

He dropped his head against his knees and closed his eyes, trying to clear his head. The thought of holding his violin again was enough to make him feel almost sick with anxiety. But, at the same time, it felt like the right thing to do. Like some form of closure. Or in this instance, maybe rebirth was a better word for it. Either way, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was something he had to do.

He had about a month to relearn the violin. Hopefully it was like riding a bike and muscle memory would do the trick.

Uh oh, wait a moment. Today was Friday. His violin tutor came over on Saturday mornings, right? It was suddenly much harder to breathe. That wasn’t enough time. He needed more time, he couldn’t play yet-

“Sunny?” Hero’s voice, tentative and filled with worry, snapped him back into the present.

Ah. Right. He was having a panic attack in the brothers’ room, wasn’t he? Cool, very cool, that’s something a normal friend does. He held perfectly still. Maybe Hero was like a dinosaur and wouldn’t see him unless he moved. (Or were those frogs?)

“Sunny, are you alright?” Hero’s voice, even more worried, was now closer. Not a dinosaur, then.

Sunny held his hand up in a thumbs up, not daring to look at Hero’s face.

There was a pause, and then a rustle of fabric. It sounded like Hero had sat down behind him. “Sunny, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop when you were talking to Mom and Mari, but… You know we don’t hate you, right?”

Sunny’s head lifted a bit. Of course he knew that. Mari wasn’t dead, there was no reason to hate him. Yet. He nodded.

Hero’s hand gently ruffled his hair. It felt nice. “Okay. If you need to talk about anything, you can always come to me. Mari, too. I know she’d be happy to listen. You’ve been quiet today, so I know now might not be when you want to do that, but whenever you’re feeling ready for it, the offer stands.”

Hero started to stand up. Before his mind could catch up with his actions, Sunny uncurled himself and latched on to Hero’s arm. Hero looked down at him in surprise.

In a miserably small voice, Sunny managed to squeak out, “Can I skip practice tomorrow?”

Hero’s expression softened. “Sure, that’s fine. You’ve had a hard day. I’ll let Mari know.”

Sunny practically sagged with relief. In doing so, he didn’t notice Hero’s eyes clouding with worry.

Sunny had never slept so poorly in his life.

He was  _ good  _ at sleeping. The best. The undefeated, reigning champion. He could sleep for twelve hours and still be tired enough to take naps once he woke up.

But right now, his nerve endings felt scraped raw. For one thing, Kel and Mari both had their arms wrapped around him, and he felt like he was suffocating. He had enjoyed the contact earlier, but he hadn’t slept in the same bed with someone in years. Even when Kel and Hero had slept over at his place, they had made their blanket fort and left him the bed.

The more pressing issue, however, was his fear of waking up. The fear that this  _ was  _ a dream after all, and that he’d wake up with a missing eye and a dead sister. So, he’d drift, only to jerk awake over and over again. While the contact made him horribly uncomfortable, at least Mari’s arms around him was proof that she was still here.

It was a long night.

“Hey, hey sleepyhead!”

Sunny blearily opened his eyes to shoot Kel a halfhearted glare. Kel looked unfazed, still poking him.

“Don’t fall asleep or I’ll steal all your bacon!”

Spitefully, Sunny licked the piece Kel had been greedily eyeing.

“Aw, no fair!”

Aubrey kicked Kel under the table. “Leave him alone, Kel! Stop trying to steal Sunny’s food!”

“But he isn’t even eating it!” Kel whined with a pout.

“Are you feeling okay, Sunny?” Basil fretted. “Kel’s right, you’ve barely touched your food. And you’ve been really quiet today, too.”

Sunny tried not to visibly grimace, but based on the looks his friends exchanged he probably didn’t succeed. He just kept forgetting that people actually expected him to talk. “Just not that hungry. I’m fine,” he forced out quickly. When that didn’t seem to convince them, he took a deliberate bite of his toast. It was enough to get them off his back, at least, and the conversation returned to normal.

Hero and Mari were shuffling around in the kitchen, muttering to each other quietly. Sunny tried to eavesdrop, but their voices were too soft to hear.

After breakfast and saying goodbye to Hero and Kel’s parents, they headed back to Sunny and Mari’s home, armed with trash bags and cleaning supplies.

Despite Aubrey’s warning from the previous day, it still shook Sunny to see the destruction. Mari’s side of the room was totally untouched, but his was an absolute nightmare. The pages from his sketchbooks were torn out and strewn everywhere. The garbage can was overturned. His blankets were on the floor, and the stuffing had been pulled out of his pillow. Every single one of his drawers stood open, their contents spilling out. His books had been pulled off the shelf, and some of the pages were bent or ripped. And, of course, the window, smashed open from the inside, the curtain rod now slightly askew from the attack.

Immediately, aware of the eyes on him but too focused to care, Sunny checked underneath his bed. His violin case looked like it had been bumped, but when he pulled it out and opened it, the violin was unharmed. Totally perfect, not a scratch on it. He felt the tense knot in his stomach unravel a bit.

“Alright, team! Let’s get started.” Mari said brightly. “I’ll order us a pizza when we’re done, so let’s work hard, okay?”

Aubrey’s eyes shone, and Kel cheered loudly. With that, the cleaning frenzy began.

“What are we going to do about the window?” Basil asked from his spot on the floor where he had begun folding Sunny’s clothes.

Hero flashed a winning smile. “Don’t worry. I asked dad to help with that. He needed to stop by the home improvement store today anyways.”

“Thank you so much, Hero. I’ll pay you guys back for this, I promise.” Mari beamed.

Sunny felt his face heat. He knew that he didn’t do this, but he still felt responsible somehow. “I can pay you back for that,” he cut off Hero, who had been opening his mouth. Probably to say something like  _ I would never ask you to pay me back, Mari, look at how perfect I am, blah blah blah.  _ “I’ll take a part time job or something.”

Everyone looked at him like he had grown two heads.

“Sunny, you can’t work!” Kel sounded absolutely scandalized. “Working is for grownups!”

Sunny set his jaw stubbornly.

“Oh, Sunny, you don’t have to do that, really!” Hero protested. “We don’t mind.”

“It’s expensive, isn’t it?” Sunny pressed. Hero wilted a little at that.

“...It…It Isn’t cheap, but-”

Sunny nodded, satisfied. “I do it.” he paused, then added, “After the recital, though. I need to practice in my free time.”

The group made phenomenal progress after that. It was a small room after all, so with all of them working together, things were looking much better after only a few hours. Aubrey, Kel, and Basil had gone down to the storage closet, looking for replacements for Sunny’s destroyed sketchbooks and for a spare pillow to switch with Sunny’s old one. (Even after finding all of the stuffing that they could, it was now almost comically flat.) Hero was outside, carefully sweeping the broken glass on the lawn below into a pan.

That left Sunny and Mari in the room alone together.

Hero had given Mari a meaningful look before heading out. Traitor. Sunny held back a sigh and peeked over his shoulder at Mari. Sure enough, she was picking at her nails, as she always did when she was feeling anxious. Sunny cleared his throat, and her attention snapped to him.

“I’m okay,” he reassured her. “Sorry, I know I’m being weird right now. But I promise, you don’t need to worry about me.”

Mari gave him a wobbly smile. “You’re saying that, but… I’ve been pushing you too hard, haven’t I?”

Sunny shook his head hard. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mari frowned before scooting closer to him and pulling him into a hug. He leaned into it. “Little brother, I really don’t understand what’s going on in that head of yours right now. Why won’t you let me in?”

“My head. Get your own.”

She snorted and pinched his cheek. “Deflecting, are we? Fine, have it your way. But, if the recital is stressing you out too much, tell me. There’s always next year-”

“No!” he sat up quickly, pulling out of the embrace. Mari looked startled. “No, I have to do this.”

“Sunny, you don’t  _ have  _ to, it’s fine! Your mental health is much more important.” Mari’s voice was pleading. “I want to do the recital, but not if it’s hurting you!”

Sunny grabbed her hand.

Her palm was warm, alive. Her fingers curled around his. He met her gaze.

“I want to.” He wasn’t lying. “I really, really want to. I’m just-” his voice wavered, and he willed his stupid eyes to stay dry. “-scared I’ll mess everything up.”

Mari crushed him into another hug. “I’ll always love you no matter what, even if you do mess up.”

Stupid eyes. Stupid, stupid, leaky eyes. He sniveled and buried his face into her shoulder, squeezing them shut as though that could force the tears back in. Mari murmured soothing words of comfort as she rubbed his back.

Funny. He was mentally as old as she was, but even now, he felt like such a baby around her. He supposed that as old as he got, she always would be his big sister.

There was a scream from downstairs.

The pair jolted apart.

Was that… Basil?

Like a flash, Mari was on her feet and darting out of the room. An alarm bell went off in Sunny’s head, and he scrambled after her.

Mari was at the top of the stairs, body poised to run down them at full speed.

“ _ Mari, don’t! _ ” His voice came out loud and sharp, wholly unlike his own. It must have been jarring, because it was enough to stop Mari in her tracks. Sunny slipped past her, running down the stairs himself.

He didn’t fall, but there wasn’t time to celebrate. He turned towards the storage closet just in time for Aubrey, Basil, and Kel to stumble out. The trio were white as sheets.

“Guys?” Mari called from the top of the stairs. “Are you okay?!”

Aubrey burst into tears, and Kel was quick to follow. Surprisingly, it was Basil who found his voice first.

“Sunny,” he choked out. “I think your house is haunted.”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Hero said, massaging his temples. Kel and Aubrey glared heatedly at him.

“You don’t know that, Hero!” Aubrey protested, stomping her foot.

“Yeah, you didn’t see it!” Kell chimed in. “But we all did! You think we’re lying? You think  _ Basil  _ is lying?”

Basil shrunk away as the attention was directed at him. “Guys!” he whined. “Don’t put this on me!”

“Is it true, Basil?” Mari pressed. “Did you see something?”

Basil flushed and looked away. “It might have been my eyes playing tricks on me, but… Yeah, I thought I did. Sorry for screaming and scaring everyone.”

Aubrey puffed up in triumph. “See? It’s true!”

Hero looked unmoved, but not angry. It was akin to the face he wore whenever Aubrey and Kel got into one of their more ridiculous fights; a combination of fond exasperation and exhaustion. “Okay, what do you want to do about it then? Is there a way to ask the ghost to leave?”

Sunny poked his head into the storage closet. He didn’t see anything, but did that really mean there was nothing there? “Can you leave?” he called into the room.

Basil and Aubrey shrieked and pulled Sunny away from the door. “What are you doing?!” Kel hissed. “The ghost will eat you!”

“Stupid!” Aubrey snapped. “Ghosts don’t eat!”

“Says you!”

“I’m not charming enough.” Sunny turned to Hero. “You have to do it.”

Hero looked baffled, but flattered. “You think I’m charming? Aw, thanks Sunny!”

Mari rubbed her chin. “You know, I think we’re supposed to burn sage if we’re performing an exorcism. Basil, do you have any sage?”

“O-oh, yeah! I’ve seen that in movies! Yeah, I have sage! It’s a really cute plant, and it smells nice!”

Aubrey gasped loudly. “Wait, they use holy water in the movies too, right? What if we get some holy water from the church?”

Kel cocked his head to the side. “How? It’s not like they have holy water vending machines.”

“If we bring our own…” Sunny started. Kel lit up.

“...Then the priest can bless it for us! Nice thinking, Sunny!”

“We have a gallon underneath the bathroom sink!” Mari seemed to become more and more into the idea as the conversation continued. “It’s distilled, but I don’t think that affects anything.”

“Mari…” Hero said weakly. “Isn’t this a little much?”

“Aw, but it’s exciting, isn’t it?”

Her enthusiasm was apparently too much for Hero to resist. “Alright, fine. But let’s finish this up before my dad gets here, alright?”

They split into two teams; Team Basil’s house (Sunny, Basil, and Mari) and Team Church (Hero, Kel, and Aubrey). There wasn’t much strategy to the organization of the teams; the only thing that they had really prioritized was making sure Hero would be the one to ask the priest to turn the gallon of distilled water into “anti ghost zapping juice”, as Kel called it.

As usual, Basil’s parents weren’t anywhere to be found. However, his grandma was out in the garden, happily watering plants while wearing her little sun hat. Sunny waved to her enthusiastically, happy to see her alive and well.

“I’ve brought them inside since it’ll probably start getting cold soon,” Basil explained as he cheerily led them to his room. “How much do you guys think we need?”

“I don’t think we need much.” Mari hummed. “The important thing is the smoke, right?”

Sunny blinked. “Wait… burning?”

“Yes?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Do fresh things burn?”

Basil, who had been about to cut a few pieces, paused. “Uh…”

“Maybe if we wrap it in paper? Or something flammable?” Mari suggested. “That should be fine, right?”

Together, they found a few old newspapers and wrapped the pieces of fresh sage in that before tying it off with some twine. It didn’t look cool like in the movies, but… it looked flammable enough? As Sunny and Mari finished tying off the bundle, there was a click and a flash. Basil, with a mischievous smile, lowered his camera. “Sorry,” he giggled. “It’s just, this is kind of fun, right? It feels like we’re on an adventure!”

Mari clapped her hands together. “I agree! I think this is exactly the kind of thing we needed. Oh!” She gasped, and her eyes sparkled. “Basil! You should bring your camera and try to take a picture of the ghost!”

Basil paled a little at that. “Isn’t that kind of scary, though?”

“If it attacks us,” Sunny said seriously, “we can just beat it up.”

“S-Sunny?!”

“Six of us. One ghost. We win.”

Mari held the sage bundle aloft. “We win!”

In the face of the relentless optimism of his friends, Basil started to look a little braver. “Well… I guess that does sound exciting…”

Mari cheered.

When they arrived back at Sunny and Mari’s home, it was to Kel’s howling laughter. Hero had poured some of the holy water into a spray bottle, and Kel and Aubrey had decorated the bottle with brightly colored stickers. Kel brandished the bottle. “Our weapon,” he declared grandly, “is complete!”

“I figured it would be silly to just pour water all over the place.” Hero huffed, trying and failing to not look amused. “I’m starting to regret that choice, though,” he added, as Aubrey grabbed the spray bottle and pantomimed blasting Kel with it. Kel slapped his hands over his chest and crumpled dramatically to the floor. 

“Well, you guys sure are having fun!” Mari teased. “Kel, Aubrey, weren’t you both scared earlier?”

Aubrey blushed, but Kel waved his hand in the air. “Whaaaat? Nah, not us. We’re professionals. Ooh, we should buy squirt guns! Then we can  _ shoot the ghost- _ ”

“That’s a no, Kel,” Hero lightly bonked Kel on the head with his hand. “No, we are not going to go to use water guns indoors in Mari’s house. We already cleaned up one mess today, we don’t need to do it again.”

“Boo.” Kel sulked. “Oh well. This is still pretty neat. Look, we even have Captain Spaceboy stickers on here!”

“Here’s a lighter, Mari!” Basil handed it to her. “Uh, and here’s a fire extinguisher! Just in case.”

“Thanks, Basil!” Mari cheered. “Alright, everyone! Ready to get that ghost?!”

Aubrey and Kel let out fearsome warcries. Sunny, Basil, and Hero let out… not nearly as fearsome cries, but it was something.

Mari flicked the lighter on and ignited the sage bundle. It took a bit for it to catch, but once it did, it became smokey quickly. ...Very smokey.

Aubrey covered her nose. “I thought this was supposed to smell nice?”

“Well…” Mari laughed sheepishly. “It is fresh… but I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

Sunny pushed open the door of the storage room, and Mari wafted some of the smoke inside. Kel readied the spray bottle. “Hero! Tell it to go away!” he hissed at his brother.

“Charmingly,” Sunny added instantly.

“A-Alright, uh…” Hero cleared his throat and flashed a smile at the empty storage room. “Spirit! Please leave this place. I’m sorry, but you can’t stay any longer. Return to the afterlife where you belong!”

There was a pause. Hero turned to Mari. “Was that good-”

The power went out.

Shrieks rang out from all sides around Sunny. Someone stepped on his foot. Next to him, Mari fumbled with the lighter, finally managing to light it, the small, flickering flame illuminating the room a little.

There was something in front of them.

Another smell filled the room; one that was putrid sweet, like rotting fruit. Of what little he could see, it was something wet, with long, grasping fingers.

Sunny couldn’t see anyone else's expression, but he could see Mari's. She was frozen, eyes wide, mouth slack, the sage drooping in her loosened grip.

Acting on impulse, Sunny snatched the sage bundle from Mari and threw it at the creature. His throw went wide, but the motion was enough to snap everyone out of their stupor. A spray of holy water from Kel sent the thing snarling, gums pulling back as it reeled. There was a flash from Basils camera, and it staggered further, reeling away from the light before it lurched forward, clawing.

It was aiming at Sunny.

Mari stepped in front of him, and blind panic rose in Sunny as he tried to call her name. Before he could, she had reeled back and-

_ WHAM! _

Whatever it was, it went sprawling. Mari looked at her fist like she couldn’t believe it belonged to her.

Emboldened by Mari’s bravery, Aubrey yowled like a cat and pounced on the thing, stomping on it’s prone form. Hero’s voice rang out in the dark, this time much less polite than it had been before.

“Leave!” he shouted. “Get out! GET OUT  _ NOW!” _

The room felt flooded with cold, and there was a rattling, furious scream. Then silence.

The lights turned back on.

The ghost was gone.

Kel, of course, was the first to start screaming. “It was real! It was real! Basil, oh Basil, please tell me you got a picture of that!”

Basil was holding the picture in a shaking hand. Wordlessly, he turned it so they could all see.

It was shoddily lit and a bit blurry, but, undeniably, there had been something there.

“Mari punched a ghost! She  _ punched it! In the face! _ ” Kel crowed between bites of pizza. “And then Aubrey stomped it to smithereens! That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Aubrey preened at the praise. “Well, yeah, I wasn’t just gonna stand there! Had to show it who’s the boss!” 

Hero groaned. Mari patted him on the back sympathetically. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that ghosts are real. This is ridiculous,” he said mournfully. “When Dad got here, he asked me what was wrong, and I told him the truth! Told him I’d just gotten in a shouting match with a ghost. And he laughed, like I had just told the funniest joke in the world.”

“You were very impressive though, Hero!” Basil tried to cheer him up. “You really, uh, put it in its place!”

Hero groaned again, louder. “Can’t believe this happened. Today started out so  _ normally.” _

“But did it?!” Kel demanded, leaning forward, eyes alight. “Okay, hear me out. So Sunny woke up in the middle of nowhere yesterday, right? And his room was all messed up?”

“Yeah Kel, we know, we were all there.” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

“No, listen!” Kel waved his slice of pizza emphatically. “Doesn’t all that sound a bit… crazy to you? A bit spooky? Maybe even… supernatural-y?!”

Basil gasped. “Sunny was possessed by that ghost!” he turned huge, shining eyes towards Sunny. “We saved you!”

Sunny shifted awkwardly in his seat.

“Well, little brother? Do you feel,” Mari hesitated, searching for the right word. “Cleansed?”

“Ghost free?” Aubrey suggested.

Hero grumbled into his arms where he had buried his head.

Sunny shrugged. He felt the same. A little amazed that ghosts were real, apparently, but honestly that wasn't the strangest or even the most frightening thing on his mind at the moment. “...Yes?”

“Yes!” Kel cheered. “Awesome! We should fight ghosts again sometime!”

Hero raised his head to glower at his brother. Kel ignored him.

Despite the fact that Mari and Sunny were now the proud owners of an exorcised home, neither of them really wanted to be alone in the house, and their parents wouldn’t be back until the next day. So, once more, they slept over at Hero and Kel’s home. The events of the day had thoroughly exhausted them and they all but collapsed into their blankets.

This time, Kel was draped over Hero instead of Sunny, so it was just him and Mari. His head was tucked against her shoulder as she gently ran a hand through his hair. Everyone else seemed to be fast asleep, based on the snoring and deep breathing, so he chanced a whisper. “Mari?”

“Hm?” her voice was equally hushed.

Sunny swallowed. “Please don’t jump in front of me like that again.”

Her hand paused before resuming its soothing motion. “I’m sorry. I scared you, didn’t I?”

Stupid eyes, knock it off. He sniffed.

“I can’t promise that I won’t protect you, Sunny. That… whatever that thing was, it was after you. I don’t regret stopping that. But I’m so sorry I made you worry. I’ll try not to put you through that again.”

Feeling reckless, Sunny pushed further. “Promise you’ll be careful on the stairs.”

“...What?”

“Please.”

Mari sighed helplessly. “Oh, little brother. What has gotten into you? I promise, I’ll be careful on the stairs. I’ll use the railing and everything. Will that make you feel better?”

Not trusting his voice, he nodded.

“Okay, then I’ll do it. But in return, you have to promise me something.”

“Anything,” he said fervently.

Gently, she pushed back his bangs so that he was looking her in the eye. “You don’t have to force yourself when you’re feeling sad or angry, but… please let yourself smile more. I know you have a lot going on in that head of yours, but remember you’re allowed to have fun.” Her own smile turned impish. “Today was pretty fun, right? Your big sis may not play ball anymore, but I still have a good arm!” She flexed. Sunny giggled, and Mari’s eyes warmed. “There it is! The sun from behind the storm clouds!”

Embarrassed, Sunny ducked his head, but he was still smiling.

“Sunny, I love you.”

“Love you too, Mari.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugggggh its 2am why do i always upload things at 2am
> 
> But also, just wanted to say thanks for all the kind comments. I'm impossibly awkward so I almost never respond but I read them all and am so happy you're all having a good time on this crazy ride. :)


End file.
